# Do any truly '20K Leagues Under the Sea'-size Giant Squid really exist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 2, 2011, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610 "2011-07-02T07:29:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/21 "2011-07-05T23:23:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Not only that, but apparently the whale is quite the talker. That, at least, doesn’t surprise me. _Everyone_ in that book must be quite the talker, to get the word count that high. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/22 "2011-07-06T00:42:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That, at least, doesn’t surprise me. _Everyone_ in that book must be quite the talker, to get the word count that high. Obviously you haven’t read Melville’s masterpiece. It’s not the dialogue that drives the word count. ---
**Author:** ![Mewl\_Dear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mewl\_Dear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mewl_Dear)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/23 "2011-07-06T01:28:08Z")
Damned if I can do the math but isnt 20,000 leagues like 50 miles? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/24 "2011-07-06T01:33:27Z")
> [@Mewl\_Dear](#): > > Damned if I can do the math but isnt 50,000 leagues like twenty miles? A league is around 15,000 to 18,000 feet depending on which countries leagues. You might be thinking of fathoms which are 6 feet. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/25 "2011-07-06T01:36:51Z")
> [@Mewl\_Dear](#): > > Damned if I can do the math but isnt 20,000 leagues like 50 miles? No. Various definitions for one “league” exist but they’re all at least a couple of miles. Maybe you’re thinking of “fathoms”, which are about six feet? EDIT: I see we’ve reached the same conclusion here. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/26 "2011-07-06T01:39:38Z")
It’s more like 70,000 miles or 3 and a half times the circumference of the earth. (Kelsey Grammer as James Mason as Captain Nemo: A league is not a measure of depth below sea leve! It is a measure of horizontal distance traveled! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/27 "2011-07-06T01:59:48Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > (Kelsey Grammer as James Mason as Captain Nemo: A league is not a measure of depth below sea leve! It is a measure of horizontal distance traveled! That’s actually the first thing I thought of when I read that question, too. Loved that sketch. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/28 "2011-07-06T03:44:54Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It’s more like 70,000 miles or 3 and a half times the circumference of the earth. (Kelsey Grammer as James Mason as Captain Nemo: A league is not a measure of depth below sea leve! It is a measure of horizontal distance traveled! And don’t even get him started on Han Solo and parsecs. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/29 "2011-07-06T04:22:26Z")
In other words, while they were submerged, they traveled a distance of 20,000 leagues. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2011, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/30 "2011-07-06T10:25:06Z")
> [@Hennessy](#): > > Speaking of squids, WTF? Nasty creatures, how did they form? Are they prey to anything (the big guys)? Where are the big ones and how close to the surface do they roam? Would they kill me if they saw or sensed me? I just, I just don’t like em… They’re deepwater creatures. They apparently are preyed on by Sperm whales. There are two animals we’re talking about here: the giant squid, [Architeuthis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_squid), and the colossal squid, [Mesonychoteuthis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesonychoteuthis_hamiltoni). The “colossal squid” dissected was believed to be a juvenile; I’ve read that they are assumed to reach the size of Sperm whales, but only counting tentacle length as part of the overall size. The wiki has size estimates. Sperm whales have been found with sucker scars on their flesh. Some early researchers reportedly tried to calculate squid size based on these scars. I read an account I cannot currently substantiate that _one_ scare found was _three feet across_, which, if the ratios hold true, indicates a squid 300 feet long. But that seemed sensationalistic and speculative. It’s enough that the colossal squid is the largest invertebrate, with a flesh-cutting beak that’s the largest in the animal kingdom, and the largest eyes too. We know little about their lives, deep-living animals that they are, but consider what we do know: [ul] [li]cephalopods are unusually intelligent predators[/li][li]colossal squid have swiveling hooks as well as suckers on their tentacles[/li][li]they are jet-propelled[/li][li]they have blinding ink[/li][li]they do not have “sex” per se, instead the savage male impales passing females with a “spermatopohore” that burrows through her flesh to her reporductive organs[/li][li]many squid can control light-emitting organs to change color and brightness – I don’t know about colossal squid in this regard, but it’s possible that colossal squid can flash-blind enemies in the dark, or lure them with light displays that mimic food[/li][/ul] Monstrous enough for you yet? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/31 "2011-07-08T19:55:54Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It’s more like 70,000 miles or 3 and a half times the circumference of the earth. (Kelsey Grammer as James Mason as Captain Nemo: A league is not a measure of depth below sea leve! It is a measure of horizontal distance traveled! 20,000 _LEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAGGGGGGUES_. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > And don’t even get him started on Han Solo and parsecs. There was actually a reasonable fan-wank of that one. The idea is that the route goes through an area peppered with wormholes, so the fastest route is the one that takes you the closest to their event horizons, i.e., the shortest. Thus, Han measured his impressive run in distance, not time. Or, you know, George Lucas is a fucking idiot who has some very clever people to explain away his mistakes after the fact. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/32 "2011-07-08T20:02:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What I don’t get is when people say things like “The kraken is a mythological beast, which was probably inspired by the giant squid”. What’s a kraken? It’s a really big squid. And those actually exist. In other words, krakens aren’t mythological; they’re real. So is my friend Phil McKracken ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/33 "2011-07-08T20:15:00Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > They’re deepwater creatures. They apparently are preyed on by Sperm whales. I remember being younger and all the “Monsters of the Deep” style books would show a squid and sperm whale locked in titanic struggle. It was a little disappointing to learn later that, while the squid may not always go quietly into that good night, they’re largely just eaten rather than holding their own in a fight. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/34 "2011-07-08T20:56:43Z")
> [@](#): > > There was actually a reasonable fan-wank of that one. The idea is that the route goes through an area peppered with wormholes, so the fastest route is the one that takes you the closest to their event horizons, i.e., the shortest. Thus, Han measured his impressive run in distance, not time. > > Or, you know, George Lucas is a fucking idiot who has some very clever people to explain away his mistakes after the fact. My preferred interpretation is that it’s just _Han_ who’s an idiot. You’ll note that when he says that, Obi-Wan sort of rolls his eyes at him. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/35 "2011-07-08T21:12:06Z")
Nvm, deleting the off topic post. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/36 "2011-07-08T22:26:44Z")
35 Posts, and no one has said: Release the Kraken! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/37 "2011-07-08T23:17:45Z")
Psst, post 9. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/38 "2011-07-09T01:00:36Z")
King Edward VII of the U.K. made the Kessel run in less than a mile! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/39 "2011-07-09T01:35:19Z")
But only once, for twenty minutes. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610/40 "2011-07-09T01:58:40Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Sperm whales have been found with sucker scars on their flesh. Some early researchers reportedly tried to calculate squid size based on these scars. I read an account I cannot currently substantiate that _one_ scare found was _three feet across_, which, if the ratios hold true, indicates a squid 300 feet long. But that seemed sensationalistic and speculative. My understanding is that those older estimates were mostly thrown out when it was pointed out that, if a sperm whale is scarred by a squid when it was younger (and smaller), then as it grows to its adult size, the sucker scar grows with it. > [@Acsenray](#): > > ``` > It's more like 70,000 miles or 3 and a half times the circumference of the earth. (Kelsey Grammer as James Mason as Captain Nemo: A league is not a measure of depth below sea leve! It is a measure of horizontal distance traveled! > > ``` There’s a fifties b-movie called _The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues_, where the titular monster is found the titular distance beneath the non-titular ocean. Which is so deep beneath the ocean’s surface, that it goes straight through the Earth and ends up somewhere around the orbit of the moon on the opposite side. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-truly-20k-leagues-under-the-sea-size-giant-squid-really-exist/587610.md?page=3)